Liam Plunkett has bowled Durham to the brink of County Championship glory at Chester-le-Street.
The former England all-rounder took three wickets this morning to ensure that the second bowling point, that would virtually guarantee Durham the title, is within their grasp.
Related ArticlesSmith tipped to lead EnglandCounty Championship scores: liveThanks to Plunkett's exploits, Durham need just one more wicket to earn the point that will give the hosts the 11 needed, in the event of a draw, and provide them with an unassailable lead at the top of Division One over second-placed Notts.
Plunkett struck the first meaningful blow for Durham, an hour into the day, when he dismissed Samit Patel in the 38th over. Patel was caught by Kyle Coetzer at gully.
Bilal Shafayat lasted just two balls before he became Plunkett's next victim. The stand-in wicketkeeper was adjudged to have been trapped leg before wicket.
Perhaps, though, Plunkett's most important contribution was to get rid of Notts opener Alex Hales, who had struck eight fours in his 62 before he was clean bowled.
While Plunkett celebrated his haul of wickets, Steve Harmison was out of luck and saw two difficult chances put down, leaving him without success from 16 overs that yielded 56 runs.
Former England player Chris Read then entered the fray, despite struggling with a dislocated thumb that stopped him keeping wicket on the first day of this contest.
Together with Ali Brown (24), the Notts captain made a courageous 15 not out as they held up the Durham charge and guided the visitors to 181 for five at the lunch interval.
Their resistance ensured that Durham supporters, who had taken advantage of the chance to watch cricket for free, had to wait before they could celebrate another championship crown.
Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board have decided that the trophy presentation will take place during the one-day international against Australia at the Riverside on Sunday, Sept 20.
'We don't want to get caught between the ECB and the sponsors,' said chief executive David Harker. 'We would just like LV to say they are happy for our captain, Will Smith, to walk down the steps with the trophy, and obviously there will be some champagne.
'It would be disrespectful to Nottinghamshire to stage any kind of celebration before the match is over, which will be either when we have won it or it is declared a draw.'
The England selectors announced this morning that 11 players have been awarded lucrative central contracts believed to be worth between £150,000 to £500,000.
Graeme Swann, Graham Onions and Matt Prior have received their first ECB deals but Jonathan Trott, despite his match winning hundred in the final Ashes Test, has only been awarded an incremental contract.
Related ArticlesEngland rest Collingwood and Anderson for ODI's'England lacking confidence'England's ODI failingsMichael Vaughan: England must give Adil Rashid chance to learnBopara, Shah 'playing for places'Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: 'Central contracts are designed to reward players who perform well consistently for England and all three have made very significant contributions to the team's recent success in regaining the Ashes and beating the West Indies at home in both Test and one-day series.
'Following his retirement from Test cricket, Andrew Flintoff, is no longer eligible for a 12-month central contract. The decision to award an incremental contract to Andrew reflects our view that he will still have an important role to play in our one-day side going forward and we wish him well with his rehabilitation from injury. As we saw in this summer's Npower Ashes series, he remains a world class talent.'
Despite Miller's words it remains to be seen if Flintoff will accept the incremental contract which is believed to be worth a fraction of what Flintoff would have received from a central contract.
The ECB would still retain control over Flintoff's career and he may feel he is better off cashing on the IPL and other Twenty20 leagues that could spring up around the world over the next few years.
Central contracts were first introduced in 2002-03 and are paid in three different salary bands which are not disclosed.
Last year it took months for the England players to sign their contracts due to wrangles over their availability for the IPL.
Central contracts: James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Graham Onions, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss and Graeme Swann.
Incremental: Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Flintoff, Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Jonathan Trott and Luke Wright.
The former England all-rounder took three wickets this morning to ensure that the second bowling point, that would virtually guarantee Durham the title, is within their grasp.
Related ArticlesSmith tipped to lead EnglandCounty Championship scores: liveThanks to Plunkett's exploits, Durham need just one more wicket to earn the point that will give the hosts the 11 needed, in the event of a draw, and provide them with an unassailable lead at the top of Division One over second-placed Notts.
Plunkett struck the first meaningful blow for Durham, an hour into the day, when he dismissed Samit Patel in the 38th over. Patel was caught by Kyle Coetzer at gully.
Bilal Shafayat lasted just two balls before he became Plunkett's next victim. The stand-in wicketkeeper was adjudged to have been trapped leg before wicket.
Perhaps, though, Plunkett's most important contribution was to get rid of Notts opener Alex Hales, who had struck eight fours in his 62 before he was clean bowled.
While Plunkett celebrated his haul of wickets, Steve Harmison was out of luck and saw two difficult chances put down, leaving him without success from 16 overs that yielded 56 runs.
Former England player Chris Read then entered the fray, despite struggling with a dislocated thumb that stopped him keeping wicket on the first day of this contest.
Together with Ali Brown (24), the Notts captain made a courageous 15 not out as they held up the Durham charge and guided the visitors to 181 for five at the lunch interval.
Their resistance ensured that Durham supporters, who had taken advantage of the chance to watch cricket for free, had to wait before they could celebrate another championship crown.
Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board have decided that the trophy presentation will take place during the one-day international against Australia at the Riverside on Sunday, Sept 20.
'We don't want to get caught between the ECB and the sponsors,' said chief executive David Harker. 'We would just like LV to say they are happy for our captain, Will Smith, to walk down the steps with the trophy, and obviously there will be some champagne.
'It would be disrespectful to Nottinghamshire to stage any kind of celebration before the match is over, which will be either when we have won it or it is declared a draw.'
Andrew Flintoff awarded incremental contract by England after Test retirement
Graeme Swann, Graham Onions and Matt Prior have received their first ECB deals but Jonathan Trott, despite his match winning hundred in the final Ashes Test, has only been awarded an incremental contract.
Related ArticlesEngland rest Collingwood and Anderson for ODI's'England lacking confidence'England's ODI failingsMichael Vaughan: England must give Adil Rashid chance to learnBopara, Shah 'playing for places'Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: 'Central contracts are designed to reward players who perform well consistently for England and all three have made very significant contributions to the team's recent success in regaining the Ashes and beating the West Indies at home in both Test and one-day series.
'Following his retirement from Test cricket, Andrew Flintoff, is no longer eligible for a 12-month central contract. The decision to award an incremental contract to Andrew reflects our view that he will still have an important role to play in our one-day side going forward and we wish him well with his rehabilitation from injury. As we saw in this summer's Npower Ashes series, he remains a world class talent.'
Despite Miller's words it remains to be seen if Flintoff will accept the incremental contract which is believed to be worth a fraction of what Flintoff would have received from a central contract.
The ECB would still retain control over Flintoff's career and he may feel he is better off cashing on the IPL and other Twenty20 leagues that could spring up around the world over the next few years.
Central contracts were first introduced in 2002-03 and are paid in three different salary bands which are not disclosed.
Last year it took months for the England players to sign their contracts due to wrangles over their availability for the IPL.
Central contracts: James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Graham Onions, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss and Graeme Swann.
Incremental: Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Flintoff, Adil Rashid, Owais Shah, Jonathan Trott and Luke Wright.
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